Application Exercises 1. What are actions an HIM professional should take to develop his or her ability to gather information about trends in the external environment that can then be considered in strategic planning sessions?

2. Why is understanding the strategic concept of a "driving force" a major strategic thinking skill for a professional and/or organizational unit to develop? Identify three organizations with an HIM function and identify their driving force (select one of the ten driving forces). 3. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a critical step in the assessment process. Conduct a SWOT analysis of an organization you work in or volunteer with (or a club or group you serve in). 4. Conduct a web search for information on future trends affecting healthcare. Identify and describe three trends and be prepared to discuss the potential impact of each on a) the health information management profession and/or b) on the health information services department in a healthcare organization. Prepare a one-page summary of each of the three trends and include the web address(es) used as the basis for the trends identified in response to this exercise. 5. Interview the chief information officer or senior vice president of strategic planning/business development of a local healthcare organization to learn about the organization's strategic plan for its information services. Write a paper describing the CIOs assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the process the organization used to prepare the plan, what key elements are included in the plan, how well the organization has embraced the vision and plan, and what impact it has had. Ask the CIO to describe one example of a change strategy that has gone particularly well and one example of a strategy that was not so successful. Report on key lessons learned. The paper should not exceed five pages